US military suicides up 20% during pandemic

Army reported to be worst effected with one unit experiencing 10 suicides this year alone

Pandemic unconfirmed source of rise in suicides among soldiers (EPA)

The number of suicides among US military members have increased as much as 20 per cent since the coronavirus pandemic struck the United States, say reports.

Although suicide has long been a problem in the US military, numbers seen in 2020 were higher than at the same time twelve months ago, the Associated Press reported.  

It comes as the pressure of isolation, deployments to natural disasters and responding to riots combines with the Covid-19 pandemic.  

In particular, the rise in suicides was reported to have impacted the US Army the most, where senior leaders have seen a 30 per cent compared to last year.

It means the number of deaths has risen from 88 last year to 114 this year among US Army members, including 10 deaths amongst paratroopers in the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division alone, compared to four last year.

"There is absolutely a stigma that's out there," said Christopher Donahue, who commands the division. "And if we don't acknowledge that, we're lying."

While the driving factors of the suicides remain unsettled, Mr Donahue and other Army leaders point to the current pandemic.

Army Secretary Ryan McCarth has also argued that the timing of the pandemic could be responsible for the current situation, CBS reported.

"I can't say scientifically, but what I can say is - I can read a chart and a graph, and the numbers have gone up in behavioral health related issues," he said.

"We cannot say definitively it is because of COVID,” added the secretary. “But there is a direct correlation from when COVID started, the numbers actually went up."

The Navy, in comparison, was reported to have seen fewer incidents this year.

According to CBS, suicides amongst active duty Air Force members and reserves was at 98 - the same seen this time last year.

Still, 2019 was reportedly the worst in three decades for active duty suicides in the US Air Force.